The Peace River K9 Search & Rescue Teams
The Peace River K9 Search and Rescue Association is built to conduct full search operations for 72 hours, in all weather, across low-angle wilderness and urban terrain, with experienced incident command staff overseeing four to six operational field teams working 24-hour operational periods. To do that, PRSAR maintains an inventory of specialized equipment and a range of team disciplines.
Our teams
Training every team member receives
Every PRSAR member, regardless of the team they serve on, completes the following. Discipline-specific training is listed on each team's own page — see The K-9 Corps for the canine standards and certifications.
Search fundamentals and incident management
Basic Searcher Training per ASTM F2209 • ICS/NIMS 100, 200, 300, 400, 700, 800 • Day and night search operations including land navigation • USNG awareness and advanced land navigation • ASTM F3072 Intermediate Wilderness GPS/GNSS Use endorsement • Lost Person Behavior • Managing the Lost Person Incident • Urban Search Management • Wide Area Search (TEEX PER 213) • Search & Rescue in Community Disasters (TEEX PER 334) • Basic and advanced man tracking
Medical
Basic and Advanced First Aid / CPR / AED / BLS • Team medics hold National Standard EMT and ACLS • Pet First Aid / CPR / Advanced K9 Trauma • Critical Incident Stress Management
Hazard and safety
ASTM F2890 Hazard Awareness for Search and Rescue Personnel • Hazardous materials awareness • Structural collapse awareness • Confined space (awareness level) • Bloodborne pathogens awareness • F130/190 Basic Wildland Firefighting • Rescue rope and knots for handler, K9, and patient assessment and packaging for low-angle wilderness extraction • Helicopter transport and heli-base operations
Investigative and community
Crime scene preservation, taught by a sworn law enforcement agency • Child Abduction Response Team (CART) • Human Trafficking Awareness / Homeland Security • State of Florida Emergency Response Awareness (SERP) • Citizens Emergency Response Team (CERT) • K9 and animal learning theory and modern training techniques • Current scent theory and meteorology of scent
Background checks
New members complete a mandatory Florida Level 1 (State) background check before their annual application to PRSAR is accepted. Human remains detection and FAST team members pass a Level 2 (State and Federal, fingerprinted) check before deploying on missions.
All PRSAR teams carry credentials, position task books, team identification, and certifications for inspection by the authority in charge or the authority having jurisdiction on request. Digital copies of training files are available to the proper authorities on request.
Our teams
- K9 Tracking and Trailing — scent-specific and human odor tracking on aged trails.
- K9 Area Search — wilderness and rural area search and area clearing.
- Human Remains Detection / Cadaver Dogs — land HRD built to ANSI/ASB Std 076-2026, plus water HRD under our own written policy.
- K9 Water Search & Rescue — live subject search and drowned victim detection worked from a vessel.
- The Dive Team — certified recovery divers for underwater search and recovery.
- The Water Recovery Team — surface and shoreline recovery operations.
- The Otter Project — water-capable detection assets.
- Remote Piloted Vehicle / Drone — aerial search, mapping, multispectral imagery, ROV.
- The Mounted Equine SAR Team — scent-trained horses for covering open ground.
- The Bike Team — rapid coverage of trails, greenways, and urban routes.
- The LRRP Team — long-range reconnaissance for remote and sustained operations.
- Autistic and Alzheimer Rescue (AART) — response tailored to subjects with autism and dementia.
- Forensics Applied Science & Technology (FAST) — forensic and evidence support.
- Citizen Emergency Response Team (CERT) — community response, emergency communications, large animal recovery, flood response.
- International Humanitarian Relief Team — disaster response abroad.
- The Demo Team — public demonstration and community education.
Training every team member receives
Every PRSAR member, regardless of the team they serve on, completes the following. Discipline-specific training is listed on each team's own page — see The K-9 Corps for the canine standards and certifications.
Search fundamentals and incident management
Basic Searcher Training per ASTM F2209 • ICS/NIMS 100, 200, 300, 400, 700, 800 • Day and night search operations including land navigation • USNG awareness and advanced land navigation • ASTM F3072 Intermediate Wilderness GPS/GNSS Use endorsement • Lost Person Behavior • Managing the Lost Person Incident • Urban Search Management • Wide Area Search (TEEX PER 213) • Search & Rescue in Community Disasters (TEEX PER 334) • Basic and advanced man tracking
Medical
Basic and Advanced First Aid / CPR / AED / BLS • Team medics hold National Standard EMT and ACLS • Pet First Aid / CPR / Advanced K9 Trauma • Critical Incident Stress Management
Hazard and safety
ASTM F2890 Hazard Awareness for Search and Rescue Personnel • Hazardous materials awareness • Structural collapse awareness • Confined space (awareness level) • Bloodborne pathogens awareness • F130/190 Basic Wildland Firefighting • Rescue rope and knots for handler, K9, and patient assessment and packaging for low-angle wilderness extraction • Helicopter transport and heli-base operations
Investigative and community
Crime scene preservation, taught by a sworn law enforcement agency • Child Abduction Response Team (CART) • Human Trafficking Awareness / Homeland Security • State of Florida Emergency Response Awareness (SERP) • Citizens Emergency Response Team (CERT) • K9 and animal learning theory and modern training techniques • Current scent theory and meteorology of scent
Background checks
New members complete a mandatory Florida Level 1 (State) background check before their annual application to PRSAR is accepted. Human remains detection and FAST team members pass a Level 2 (State and Federal, fingerprinted) check before deploying on missions.
All PRSAR teams carry credentials, position task books, team identification, and certifications for inspection by the authority in charge or the authority having jurisdiction on request. Digital copies of training files are available to the proper authorities on request.
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